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ETHOD AND MEANS FOR INDICATING AND MAINTAINING A COUNT OF STITCHES IN HAND KNITTING Filed Sept. 11, 1957 y N. F. LUTHER 2,118,210

Patented May 24, 1938- UNITED STATES 8 Claims. This invention relates to the art of hand-knitting and consists in a method and means for keeping count of the stitches in each row as they are cast onto a needle and transferred from one needle to another or, in other cases, added continuously to the fabric by use of a circular needle. One object of the invention is to provide a method of markingofi' and indicating any suitable number or multiple of stitches cast onto the o needle at the start oi the work with indicators or markers which are maintained'in the same relative position on the needle or needles as each row of stitches is added.

Another object of the invention is to provide a g plurality of telltales or indicators adapted to be threaded onto the knitting needle to mark oil or designate multiples of the stitches in any convenient number, which indicators are progressively transferred during the knitting to advance with each row of stitches whereby to maintain the count throughout the progress or the work.

marker or telltale of the character indicated adapted to be threaded onto the needle at intervals of the knitting and to be transferred to another needle of the straight type or to another portion of a circular needle to maintain the same relationship in the work.- v

Another object of the invention is to provide a counter or telltale of the character indicated which may be used interchangeably with needles of different size.

Another object of the invention is to provide a which is relatively small and convenient to use without hindering the knitting operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the"type indicated which is inexpensive to manufacture and practical in use for'the purl poses specified.

' Further objects of the improvement are set forth in the following specification which describes several preferred forms of the marker or indicator and its manner of use, by way of ex- 7 ample, as illustrated by the accompanying drawing. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional type of circular knitting needle with a sec- 'tion of fabric being knitted therewith and illustrating the present stitch-counter or indicator applied to use therewith: 7

Fig. 2 is anenlarged perspective view showing 1 v the ends of a circular needle or a pair of straight needles and illustrating the manner in which the counters are transferred from one point of Another object of the invention is to provide a 7 counter or telltale of the character indicated,

PATENT. OFFICE 'NQllk I. Lltller, Providence, B. 1. Application September 11, 1937, Serial No. 163,490

the needle to its opposite'point or from one needle to another;

Fig.3 is a perspective view showing a simple form of the counter or telltale as constructed from sheet-material stamped'out in the config- 5 urationof the figure 8 to provide two openings for the knitting needle or needles;

Fig. 4 is a similar-view showing the counter constructed from two rings cemented or otherwise secured together at their peripheries:

m.-5 is a perspective view illustrating another form of the device having pairs of spaced openings of difi'er'ent diameter to adapt it for use with diiierent size needles;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another form of the device constructed with a pair of intersectopenings;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a modified form of the device wherein the loops for the needles have reentrant openings to adapt the counter to be sprung onto the needles; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the device as constructed from wire bent into figure 8 configuration.

The art of hand-knitting is enjoying an increasing vogue at the present time and both experienced and inexperienced knltters often find it difiicult to keep count of the stitches in the rows cast onto the needles and progressively added to during the progress of the work. Many knltters practice the art while engaged in some other pastime or in conversation and complaints are numerous that they lose count of the stitches and are thus obliged to repeatedly make a recount, especlally when it is necessary to narrow or widen the work. To 0 ome this difiiculty the present invention provides a method and means for continuously maintaining and indicating a count of the number of stitches in each row during the whole progress of the work. This improved method consists in applying a novel form of counter or marker to the needle as the first row of stitches is cast on to indicate any convenient number of stitches in a group, such as ten, twenty or any other multiple, the counter or stitch'indicator being so constructed as to adapt it to be passed from the point at one end of a circular needle onto the point at its opposite end. as the stitches are knitted off, or to be transferred from one needle to another as each new row of stitches is added to the work. More specifically, the novel stitch-indicator or counter consists in a small device having a plurality of openings for the needle or needles, the counters beingthreaded ontotheneedieatintervalsbeg5 tween adjacent stitches tomark off the row in groups of equal multiples.

As the knitting proceeds each counter is transferred from one end of the needle to its other end, or from one needle to the-other, as the stitches are knitted off so that the count indication remains permanent as applying to each added row of stitches.

The counter or stitch-indicator may be made in various forms and of any suitable material, a simple and convenient form of construction being illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the present drawing. In Fig. 3 the counter 2 is shown as constructed from relatively thin sheet-material such as celluloid or pyroxylin, or it may be made of fiber, metal or any other appropriate substance. When made from sheet-material the counter 2 may be stamped out with a configuration corresponding to that of the figure 8 to provide two spaced openings 3 and i for reception of the needle or needles onto which it is threaded.

In Fig. 4 the counter t is shown as having substantially the same configuration in plan view as in Fig. 3 and constructed from two small rings 6 and l cemented or otherwise joined together their peripheries, as indicated at 8.

Fig. 5 illustrates a modified form of counter or stitch-indicator Ill constructed from sheet-materiai in substantially clover-leaf configuration with four opening or holes for the needles. The openings ll, ll of one pair are somewhat larger than those of the opposite pair l2, l2 to provide that the counter may be used with needles oi different size. That is to say, with relatively large needles the counter iii would be used in the position illustrated in Fig. 5 with the needle passing through one of the holes it, while if smaller needles were being used the counter would be turned about to position it with the needle passing through one of the smaller holes i2.

Fig. 6 illustrates another slight variation in the form of device shown in Fig. 3. In this embodiment of the invention the counter Ed has two openings 16, H which merge one into the other.

By this arrangement the total length of the counter is contracted somewhat but its intermediate narrowed portion will prevent the needle from. passing from one opening to the other so that during the knitting the device is held projecting upwardly from the needle without danger of its dropping down to interfere with the work.

Fig. '7 illustrates another form of counter or stitch-indicator 20 constructed with two openended loops 2| and 22. This form of device has a contour similar to a pair of contiguous horseshoes, the loops 2| and 22 having reentrant openings 23 and 24 through which the needle may be passed. In other words, this form of the device provides for snapping the counter onto the needle after the stitches have been cast on by simply springing the sides of its reentrant opening over the sides of the needle.

In Fig. 3 the counter25 takes a shape similar to thatillustrated in Fig. 3, but is shown as being constructed of round wire bent to form two opposed loops 26 and 21 to provide separate openings for the needles. 7 A Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing the method of applying the novel stitch-counter to use is as next explained. As an example, counters of the form shown in Fig. 3 are supplied in suiiicient number to divide the rows of stitches into any suitable multiples, Fig. 1 illustrating the counters or indicators 2 as marking off the row of stitches in groups of twenty-five. The knitter aiiacio required to mentally retain the number, but may starts the work as usual by casting on the required number of stitches and after the first twenty-five stitches have been cast on simply slips 2. counter 2 onto the needle by inserting the point of the latter through one of the openings 3 in the device. After twenty-five more stitches have been cast on another counter 2 is slipped onto the needle, and so on until the whole numher or" stitches have been cast on. In some cases, for example in knitting tubular fabrics for skirts or other circular garments, it is desirable to mark the center of the backcf the garment and to indicate this point in the work a counter of diiferent color may be used. Preferably the counters 2 are of white or pastel colors and a counter of distinguishing color, such as bright red or blue, may be provided to be used to mark the center of the back of the garment; in Fig. l the center counter being delineated in black to represent its distinguishing color. After the desired number of stitches have been cast onto a circular needle, such as indicated by the reference character N in Fig. l, the knitting proceeds by knitting off the stitches from the point at one end of the needle and onto the point at its opposite end. As this operation proceeds to add another row of stitches to the fabric the counters 2 are transferred at intervals. That is to say, when a stitch such as at s is to be taken off from one end of the needle N the opposite pointed end of the needle is passed through the free opening 3 in the counter 2, preferably in the manner as illustrated in Fig. 2, and the counter released from the opposite point of the needle by withdrawing the latter from the opening 4 therein.

In this way the location of the counters in relation to the stitches added in each row is maintalned the same as at the start of the knitting or, in other words, the counters will always be so placed as to mark off the same number of stitches in each group.

When it is desired to increase the number of stitches in the fabric the extra stitches are applied adjacent the counters so that the latter will always indicate an equal'number of stitches in each group or section. likewise, in narrowing the fabric by knitting two stitches together the counters will still remain in the same relative position so that they will indicate the same number of stitches in each group.- Stated briefly, each row will be marked off and divided by the counters into equal multiples of stitches so that the operator can determine at a glance the whole number of stitches in each row. For example, in the illustration of Fig. 1 the row of stitches on the needle is divided into seven groups of twentyiive stitches each, making one hundred and seventy-five stitches in all.

After the knitting has proceeded and it is desired to narrow the fabric two stitches may be knitted together at a point adjacent each counter which will result in reducing the whole number of stitches by seven, or to one hundred and sixtyeight in the row. If later it is again required to narrow, the knitter may find the whole number of stitches in a row by simply counting those in any one group between two adjacent counters, for example twenty-four after the narrowing, and by multiplying this number by seven the whole number arrived at wouldbe one hundred and sixty-eight. It will thus be observed that with the present improved method and means for counting the stitches the knitter will not be readily find it at any point in the knitting by counting only one small group of stitches instead of the whole number in a row. Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, it will be observed that after several rows of stitches have been knitted into the fabric the tension of the yarn will maintain the markers or counters in substantially erect position so that they will be plainly visible while not interfering with the work.

The same'method of maintaining the count may be practiced with two or more straight needles, that is to say, the markers or counters are applied to one needle between groups of anydesired number of stitches and transferred from this needle to anotherneedle as new rows of stitches are added in exactly the same way as explained in connection with the circular needle. Through this convenience the knitter may employ her mind to other uses, even to reading while knitting, viewing motion pictures, or engaging in. conversation and other pastimes.

The present improved method and means for maintaining the count is not only a great convenience to the knitter but their use results in saving time and also prevents mistakes in knitting. Where it is only necessary to count a few stitches there is less liability of error than where a whole row must be counted and thus the chance of repeated error is greatly mitigated.

While the present method and novel means of indicating and maintaining the count of stitches in hand-knitting are herein described and illustrated in preferred form, it is to be understood that the steps in the method may be varied and the structure of the counter altered without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Therefore, without limiting myself in this respect, I claim:

1. A method of hand-knitting to maintain a definite indication of the number of stitches in each row consisting in casting the stitches onto a needle and applying markers or counters be tween groups of the stitches of equal number, and

transferring the markers from one point of the needle to its opposite point or from one needle to another in .the same relation to the stitches as each new row of stitches is added 'to the knitting.

3. An improved method of maintaining an indication ofv the number of stitches in each row during continuous knitting consisting in dividing the whole number of stitches to be cast onto the needle into equal multiples, providing a plurality of counters, casting the stitches onto the needle with counters applied thereto between adjacent groups of stitches of the same number, and transferring the counters from one point of the needle to its opposite point or from one needle to another as each new row of stitches is added to the fabric whereby to maintain a grouping of the stitches in equal multiples throughout the knit- .iing operation.

4. In combination with one or a plurality of knitting needles, a plurality of counters having openings therein to adapt them to be threaded onto one needle and transferred therefrom to another needle or to the opposite point of the same needle during the knitting operation.

5. In combination with one or a plurality of knitting needles, a counter comprising a relatively flat element having a plurality of openings to adapt it to be slipped onto a needle passed through one of'its openings while exposing another opening for receiving the point of the same or another needle while it is held in first position, whereby to adapt it to be transferred from one needle to another or from one point of a circular needle to its opposite point as each row of stitches is added to the work.

6. In combination with one or a plurality of knitting needles, a plurality of counters having opposite pairs of spaced openings of difierent size to adapt them to be slipped onto the shank of a needle of certain size or to be applied to a needle of different size and to be transferred therefrom to another needle or another portion of the same needle by passing the point thereof through the opening opposite to the opening first receiving the shank of the needle.

7. A counter for use with knitting needles comprising a relatively flat element having spaced openings therein of substantially the same size to adapt the counter to be threaded onto a needle and to be transferred therefrom to another needle by passing. its point through the opening opposite to that through which the shank of the needle passes.

8. 'A device of the type indicated comprising an element having two opposed loops, said loops having reentrant openings to adapt a knitting needle to be sprung into the openings to retain the element thereon. I I

- NELLIE I". LUTHER. 

